Request
from the Knight Order 4
The
next morning, Ashren-sama brought a basket packed with breakfast, so we
decided to go to the medicinal herb garden to eat.
It
seems the knights start training from early morning, so Ashren-sama had
quickly folded the tent and left it with Mark-sama. Karin-chan
was in a very good mood, having accomplished the grand task of staying outside
away from her parents.
We
sat down flanking Karin-chan, who was making merry over the early
morning picnic, and stuffed our cheeks with the sandwiches taken from the
basket. Tea, brewed just like last night, was poured into our cups. A meal in
this refreshing weather should originally be an enjoyable thing, but my
feelings were a bit heavy.
「I heard Princess Stira came
last night.」
「Ugh, cough... Excuse me.」
At
the sudden words, I choked on the tea I was drinking. When I blinked repeatedly
wondering how he knew, the corners of Ashren-sama's mouth rose
mischievously.
「Could it be that you were at the
knights' dormitory last night?」
「I was chatting with my old friend Mark
and missed the timing to go home.」
A
lie. That is absolutely a lie, isn't it.
「Princess Stira apparently
heard from the Director that I was camping out, and came to see how I
was doing.」
「Were you and Princess Stira
that close, Layla?」
At
the sharp pointed question, I tightened my cheeks that were about to cramp.
「We are the same age, and Karin-chan
was in the tent last night too. Even though she is lovely, I was surprised that
she has a solid way of thinking fitting for royalty.」
Although
she has an appearance that invites a desire to protect her, like Aisha,
she has the resolve to accept that a political marriage cannot be helped. But
it must be painful for her.
My
eyes naturally went to the tree where the two had their secret meeting. Ashren-sama
followed my gaze and pointed at the eucalyptus tree.
「Come to think of it, you used the
leaves of that tree for the ingredients of the aroma candle, didn't you.」
「Yes, I believe you know this, but
that is eucalyptus. I used several other types of herbs as well.」
The
method to make it isn't that difficult. I used steam distillation, which is
popular enough to be used in perfume making.
Steam
is poured into a distillation still containing the plants, and once the steam
has absorbed the plant's scent, the gas is sent to a cooling pipe and cooled
rapidly. It seems the distilled water made this way is used not only in
perfumes but also in cosmetics.
Since
steam distillation is often used in making medicines too, the laboratory is
equipped with instruments like test tubes and cooling pipes. Although it was my
first time making an aroma candle, because the ingredients were herbs, there
was no danger of explosion or toxic components being created during the
experiment, which made it mentally easy.
The
completed distilled water was mixed with melted shaved wax, and then solidified
again to make the aroma candle we used last night.
「But why did you go out of your way
to make it a candle? You could have just sprayed it as is... ah, but then it
wouldn't have durability.」
「Yes. Since I heard that candles are
kept lit all night, I wondered if I couldn't utilize that. What you taught me
about minimizing luggage during encampments, Ashren-sama, was the
trigger.」
Cooking
utensils that can be used as both pots and frying pans, or tableware where the
tip of the spoon is split to also serve as a fork. I heard that the tools used
by knights have contrivances to reduce luggage, so I had decided to make
something that wouldn't be bulky.
「However, the one I made only lasted
for four hours, so I have to improve it so it can be used all night.」
「There is probably no need for that.
At night, they keep watch in shifts of three to four hours, so they can just
replace it then. More than that, the Director seems to have taken an
interest in it in a different sense.」
「A different sense?」
「For example, if you mix in flower
petals when solidifying the wax and make the scent something women like, it
will become popular in the market. Good grief, her inventiveness is as rich as
ever. I couldn't come up with that.」
I
recalled the Director looking at the prototype with deep interest.
Both
Ashren-sama and I come up with various ideas when it comes to
pharmaceutics, but regarding anything else, we are completely hopeless. Putting
antennas out in various directions to gather information, and having the
charisma to execute various ideas is something unique to royalty. Which means,
the man Princess Stira has feelings for might also be a fitting person
to join the royal family. At least, more so than Prince Elliot.
「Thank you for the meal. Are Layla
and Ashren-sama still eating?」
「Sorry, we were talking, so please
wait a little bit more.」
「Yeah. You know, I think it would be
fine if I didn't go to the daycare today and went to the laboratory instead.」
Ashren-sama patted the head of the smiling
Karin-chan.
「In that case, I will take you to my
older brother's office. And if you get permission, you can stay there, but if
he says no, you go to the daycare.」
「Yeah!」
Rejoicing
with a "Yay," Karin-chan started skipping through the
medicinal herb garden. Marquis Naturi, who dotes on his daughter, will
surely do his work with Karin-chan sitting on his lap.
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